1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a child safety system for use in connection with detecting a child fastened in a car seat. The occupant detection and notification system has particular utility in connection with reminding occupants getting out of a vehicle that there is a child fastened in a car seat inside the vehicle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In these times there are more and more tragic incidences of busy parents, daycare workers, and other adults in a hurry or in a preoccupied state of mind, getting our of their car and forgetting that a baby or small child is strapped in the car seat in the backseat of the car. Such events can change the lives of a family permanently. For a reasonably low cost, car seats can be equipped with a notification system that will get a responsible adult's attention when leaving a vehicle, thereby preventing such accidents from occurring.
The use of warning systems and car seat safety devices are known in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,260,684 to Metzmaker discloses a warning system for a child's restraining seat for use in a passenger vehicle that includes an occupancy indicator, an emergency signal, and warning indicators. A vibration sensor actuates the warning system in the event of an accident to notify people outside the vehicle that there is an occupant inside. However, the Metzmaker '684 patent discloses a device that is different in structure from the present invention and does not actuate the system inside the vehicle when the driver's door and/or other doors are opened to indicate that there is a child onboard.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,024,378 to Fu discloses a vehicle seat assembly including at least one occupant sensing system used in headrest adjustment and/or air bag actuation systems that includes an array of pressure transducers located in the seat cushion, back cushion, and headrest to prevent air bag deployment when the controller determines that the vehicle seat is unoccupied or is occupied by a rear-facing child car seat. However, the Fu '378 patent also discloses a device that is different in structure from the present invention and does not actuate the system inside the vehicle when the driver's door and/or other doors are opened to indicate that there is a child onboard.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 6,329,914 to Shieh, et al. discloses a thickness measurement detection system for use in vehicle occupant detection, which utilizes an oscillation circuit that causes an antenna electrode to emit an electric field that is disrupted by the electrical characteristics of an object placed on the seat. However, the Shieh '914 patent is different in structure from that of the present invention and does not disclose a system that sets off a notification signal when a child is positioned in a child car seat and at least one vehicle door is opened, as would be the case when an adult is exiting the vehicle.
Also, U.S. Pat. No. 5,983,147 to Krumm discloses a video occupant detection and classification system that determines when it is not safe to arm a vehicle airbag by storing representations of known situations as observed by a camera at a passenger seat. However, the Krumm '147 patent is different in both function and structure from that of the present invention and does not actuate the system when the driver's door and/or other doors are opened to indicate that there is a child onboard.
Lastly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,802,479 to Kithil et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 6,480,103 to McCarthy et al. disclose apparatus that may be of general interest and pertinent to the construction and design of the present invention. The Kithil '479 patent discloses a motor vehicle occupant sensing systems that uses a roof-mounted sensor array of capacitive coupling passenger position sensors. The McCarthy '103 patent discloses a system for sensing ambient conditions in a compartment, such as the trunk of an automobile, and generates a control signal in response to the sensed conditions. However, both of theses patents are different in both function and structure from that of the present invention and neither discloses a system that sets off a notification signal when a child is positioned in a child car seat and at least one vehicle door is opened, as would be the case when an adult is exiting the vehicle.
While the above-described devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not describe an occupant detection and notification system for use with a child car seat that reminds a responsible person that there is a child onboard.
Therefore, in this fast paced society, where in the year 2003 through the month of August it's reported that 36 children have died from heat exhaustion in automobiles, a need exists for a new occupant detection and notification system that can be used to get a persons attention when a child is in a child car seat and a vehicle door is opened, thereby reminding such person exiting the vehicle that there is an onboard child strapped in a car seat. Almost unbelievably, it is also reported that slightly less than 2% of these deaths are cause by people deliberately leaving a child in a car. So there is also a need for a system that will alert passersby in the vicinity to come to the rescue of a child left in a car, for whatever reason, when the inside temperature reaches life threatening levels, either too hot or too cold. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills these needs. In this respect, the occupant detection and notification system according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of preventing a baby or child from being left in a vehicle where the temperature may quickly reach life threatening extremes.